Bruins long-shot Connor Clifton thinks he can do the job in the NHL

Friday

Connor Clifton, one of several defensemen called up from AHL Providence to fill holes on the Bruins’ blue line, gained confidence over his first three NHL games.

BOSTON -- Connor Clifton isn’t just a hockey player. He plays one on TV, too.

Clifton, 23, is one of the defensemen the Bruins have had to summon from AHL Providence to help fill multiple holes on their blue line. Friday night’s game against the Penguins was the fourth in the NHL -- all in the space of a week -- and his first at TD Garden.

To say he hasn’t had much time to process so many recent events would be an understatement, and maybe also a good thing.

“It was an emergency, such a quick turnaround,” said Clifton, who was recalled on Nov. 15 - the day after captain Zdeno Chara (knee) and fellow defenseman John Moore (lower body) got hurt in a 6-3 loss at Colorado. “I didn’t really have time to get nervous or anything.”

An undrafted free agent who spent last season on an AHL contract at Providence, Clifton qualifies as a bit of a long shot to reach the NHL, especially in only his second pro season. (He signed a a two-year, two-way NHL/AHL deal on May 3.) He admits he was a little uncertain about how things would go for him at the NHL level.

“You watch the NHL on TV, but you really don’t know what to expect until you get into a game,” he said. “Then, it’s like ‘Wow, I can play here.’ That gives you some confidence, and then you can settle in and just play.”

Clifton, who played four years at Quinnipiac University before landing in the Bruins’ organization, performed well enough over games at Dallas, Arizona and Detroit (plus-2, averaging 19:51 minutes per night) to hold his place in the lineup on Friday, when Moore returned. The Bruins scratched Steven Kampfer, who has 180 NHL games on his resume.

“Clifford’s a little more competitive,” B’s head coach Bruce Cassidy said of the 5-foot-11, 175-pounder, who traded slashes and then fought Stars veteran Jason Spezza in his NHL debut last Friday. “He hasn’t been afraid of the limelight, hasn’t been afraid to match up against bigger bodies.”

Loose change: A 15-game scoring drought, combined with Cassidy’s desire to re-set his centers in the absence of Patrice Bergeron (rib, sternoclavicular injuries), cost winger Anders Bjork his spot in the lineup.

“He’s moved real hard on managing (the puck), not turning it over, playing his off-wing, defending, working back to the right areas,“ Cassidy said of Bjork, who scored his only goal and assist this season on Oct. 13, against Detroit. “Now it’s a matter of how we get him going offensively, because that was his M.O. coming out of college (21-31--52 in 39 games as a Notre Dame junior in 2016-17, his final NCAA season). We’d like to see that growth.”

Joakim Nordstrom, who had been the No. 2 center for two games, dropped back into Bjork’s spot at left wing on the third line, which was centered by P-Bruins call-up Colby Cave with Noel Acciari at right wing. Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, who had scored goals in consecutive games, moved into Bergeron’s slot between first-line wingers Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.

Cave played only his fourth NHL game. The fourth-year P-Bruin was leading that team with 6-12--18 totals in 15 games.

“With Colby, the message was ‘You’re 3½, four years in; let’s get after it. No more nerves,’ ’’ Cassidy said. “You don’t know how many chances you’re going to get in this game, so go play, and don’t leave anything in the room.”

Around the boards: Defensemen Brandon Carlo (upper body), Charlie McAvoy and Urho Vaakanainen (both have concussions) all skated before the rest of the team on Friday morning, McAvoy still wearing a non-contact jersey. Cassidy said his guess is that Carlo, who missed his sixth game, is closest to returning, but that none would play on Saturday night at Montreal (7:05, NESN, WBZ-FM/98.5). … Tuukka Rask will start against the Canadiens.

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